ILOILO City – Between Aug. 1, 2020 and May 3 this year, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) recorded 164,209 violators of health protocols against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Records from PRO-6 showed 344 violators were arrested, 131,422 people were warned and 32,443 fined.
Of the arrested individuals, 220 were not wearing face shields and 51 were not wearing facemasks – the two most violated health protocols.
Also, 38,356 persons were warned for not wearing face shields in public and 46,071 for not wearing facemasks.
Other protocols also include social distancing and securing of quarantine passes, among others.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, spokesperson of the PRO-6, said since the onset of the pandemic last year, the police were strict in implementing health protocols in accordance with Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan Law).
“We always tell the public to follow the health protocols to avoid being fined or arrested, but there were hard-headed people,” Malong said.
On May 5, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest people not wearing their facemasks properly in public to “protect the public” against COVID-19.
“We have been doing that but we have to further strengthen our operation,” she stressed./PN
